How it works - Keep Wales Tidy

What are the benefits?

Eco-Tots Cymru has been inspired by Eco-Schools – an international programme that Keep Wales Tidy has run successfully in Wales for more than three decades.

Building on this experience, we’ve created a programme that we truly believe will benefit settings, practitioners, parents and – most importantly – our youngest learners.

Developed for early years

All our resources, content and concepts have been developed by specialists and in consultation with early years settings across Wales, to ensure that we are providing a programme that is engaging, ready to use and fully bilingual.

Professional development

We’ve developed short, bilingual training sessions linked to each of the themes to give confidence to practitioners. We’ll build your knowledge, guide you through how to get started and share inspiration. You can either join a live session with our Eco-Tots Officer and other settings or watch a recording in your own time – it’s up to you.

A flexible approach

Practitioners can choose which activities to engage with or utilise their own ideas and resources. Being able to respond in the moment to children’s curiosity is a core principle of the programme, helping to nurture a natural connection and interest in our wonderful world.

Linked to the Curriculum for Wales

We need children to understand from an early age that they have a voice and an active role to play in caring for our environment. The programme encourages children to take their first steps in becoming custodians for nature and Planet Earth, while learning about its wonders and secrets – strengthening their sense of Cynefin and developing all pathways.

Recognition for high quality, sustainable settings

As the programme grows, the Eco-Tots Award is designed to become a trusted and widely recognised mark of quality for parents, carers and funders alike.

A step-by-step guide to Eco-Tots Cymru

Step 1

Register

To get started on your Eco-Tots journey, complete our simple online form – just tell us about your setting and why you want to get involved.

Once we approve your registration, we’ll provide dates for your introductory training as well as details of thematic practitioner training.

We hope to be able to include every setting that is interested, but we do have a maximum capacity that we can provide resources for each year. Read our Frequently Asked Questions below to learn more.

Useful links and downloadsComplete the registration form Read the FAQs

Step 2

Pick a theme

Get started by picking one of our six themes: Tidy Team, Wonderful Wildlife, Power Protectors, Terrific Trees, Reduce and Reuse and Starting from Seed.

There is a short audit for each theme that is designed to be completed with learners to support their exploration into what’s working and what could be improved in and around their setting. This can be used to identify one action that you can take as a group.

The thematic resources on the website can be used to explore the core theme concept and are designed as a starting point for investigating the different areas. While each theme can be explored independently, they can also be followed holistically, as many of the themes naturally link and reinforce one another.

There is no time specification needed for each theme; you might spend a week, a month, or longer dipping into the activities. You can also choose which themes to engage with at different points in the year. The resources and activity ideas have been developed with different age ranges in mind, allowing you to adapt and deepen learning to suit your learners.

In order to gain your Eco-Tots Cymru Award, you will need to have covered four of the six themes.

Useful links and downloadsDownload the Team Tidy Audit Download the Wonderful Wildlife Audit Download the Power Protectors Audit Download the Terrific Trees Audit Download the Reduce and Reuse Audit Download the Starting from Seed Audit Access Eco-Tots Cymru resources

Step 3

Make the most of your activity sacks

There is an activity sack linked to every theme, which will be sent to you as part of your Eco-Tots Cymru resources.

Each sack contains a simple activity that can be enjoyed at home – helping to support family involvement and continued exploration of the theme.

We’ll include simple instructions and a QR code linking to a short video to help families get started. Whether it’s hunting for minibeasts, exploring a tree, or planting cress together, the activities are fun, easy to follow, and designed to be completed over a weekend, with a different family taking part each time.

There will also be a short feedback form to complete for each activity sack, enabling parents or carers to share their experiences.

Step 4

Tell us how you’re doing

Once you’ve been accepted onto the programme, we’ll give you a login to the Eco-Tots Cymru online portal.

This is where you will upload pictures of learning activities, your completed audits and action plans, quotes from children and parents, and any evidence of impact on learners.

Step 5

Apply for an award!

Once you’ve completed four or more themes, there will be two opportunities during the year that you can apply for an Eco-Tots Cymru Award – March and June.

While the assessment will be completed virtually, if you need any in-person support, we’re always happy to help. You can contact your local Education Officer or get in touch with our Eco-Tots Officer for further advice and guidance.

eco-tots@keepwalesitdy.cymru

FAQs

Nothing. We’re very pleased to say Eco-Tots is completely free, thanks to support from the Moondance Foundation!

The programme is intended for early years settings that serve children under five and are not funded or governed as part of a school. This includes both maintained and non‑maintained provision, across school‑day and full‑day care sessions.

We hope to be able to include every setting that is interested, but we do have a maximum capacity per year. That’s why we’re encourage eligible settings to register as soon as possible.

Online learning resources and thematic training are available free of charge to all providers; however, at this stage, we do not have the capacity to supply physical resources to childminders. We appreciate your understanding and hope to resolve this soon.

Virtual training will be provided on how the programme works and how to progress to gain your Eco-Tots Cymru Award. We will also provide training linked to each theme, helping to build practitioner knowledge and confidence.

Our dedicated Eco-Tots Officer will always be on hand to help, and we have a team of education experts based across Wales who can offer local advice and support.

The programme content has been carefully designed to align with the Curriculum for Wales for funded, non-maintained nursery settings, as well as the Early Childhood Play, Learning and Care (ECPLC) framework. To effectively support this, Eco-Tots Cymru provides:

Training for adults so they feel confident in their knowledge and are empowered as skilled enablers – supporting children’s natural curiosity and making the most of meaningful teachable moments.
Guidance for creating authentic, purposeful and engaging environments that inspire exploration, nurture curiosity, and support children to discover key concepts through hands-on experiences.
Engaging experience ideas that foster natural curiosity, creative thinking, problem-solving skills, and a sense of care for our community and planet – helping to develop a strong sense of cynefin.
Eco-Tots supports all developmental pathways by encouraging babies and children to spend time outdoors, explore their surroundings, engage their senses, and experience nature first-hand. Alongside this, children are introduced to fun and interesting facts that spark curiosity and fascination, nurturing a deep sense of belonging and a desire to care for and protect the world around them.
Eco-Tots also strengthens the connection between home and the setting by providing engaging activities for children to enjoy with their parents or carers. These experiences introduce simple, age-appropriate ideas about environmental challenges and empower families with practical ways they can all play a part in caring for our planet.

All our online resources are freely available for anyone to use, and our thematic training is open to parents as well as practitioners.

If your child attends a nursery provision, you can encourage them to register and engage with the programme!

Resources have been designed as a guide to activities to engage learners, but they are non-prescriptive. Each one can be tailored to different needs and is designed to be multi-sensory.

There isn’t a requirement to engage with every activity – practitioners can choose which activities are most suited to children in their setting.

We also welcome feedback as to where further development is needed or adjustments could be made. Just email eco-tots@keepwalestidy.cymru

Currently our resources are only available in Welsh and English.

If you would like to access them in a different language, please get in touch with the team to discuss your needs. Just email eco-tots@keepwalestidy.cymru.